Combining age and HBsAg level predicts post-treatment durability of nucleos(t)ide analogue-induced HBeAg seroconversion

Background and Aims Previous studies have indicated that lamivudine‐induced hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion may not be durable in the Asian population. We investigated the useful predictors of post‐treatment hepatitis B virus (HBV) relapse in patients with nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)‐induced HBeAg loss/seroconversion. Methods A total of 157 non‐cirrhotic patients with NA‐induced HBeAg loss/seroconversion (78, lamivudine; 68, entecavir; 11, telbivudine) were retrospectively analyzed. All patients had at least 12 months of post‐treatment follow‐up and consolidation therapy duration. Results The cumulative rate of post‐treatment HBV relapse at 5 years was 57.1%. Multivariate analysis revealed that age and baseline hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels independently predicted post‐treatment HBV relapse. The post‐treatment HBV relapse rate was significantly higher in patients aged > 40 years than in those